Dortmund Face Defensive Shake-Up Ahead of Villarreal Opener

Overview

• Kovac said Daniel Svensson and Konstantinos Karetsas are fit and available after missing final group training, a decision made on Monday to manage their workload.
• Filippo Mané sustained a muscle injury in the weekend win over Hoffenheim and is ruled out for the match with an expected return after the international break in October.
• Ramy Bensebaini is suspended and unavailable for Tuesday’s game, while reporting conflicts leave Nico Schlotterbeck’s immediate status unclear with some outlets calling him suspended and others listing him as long-term injured.
• Kovac warned his squad not to underestimate Villarreal, noting their third-place finish in La Liga last season despite a poor start to this campaign.
• The absences force a likely defensive reshuffle for Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park and raise the stakes of early group games against high-quality opponents such as Inter Milan and Arsenal.